The lawsuit, filed by the $700 million pension fund on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, accuses Target of "breach of fiduciary duty and waste of corporate assets."

"The defendants' failures to implement any internal controls at Target designed to detect and prevent such a data breach, and then timely report it, have severely damaged Target," the lawsuit states.

The Police Retirement System of St. Louis, which owned Target stock at the time of the breach and continues to do so now, says it filed the suit due to financial losses sustained by shareholders as a result of the breach.

The pension fund wants the individual executives and directors to pay restitution to Target. It also wants the company to implement tighter data security, strengthen its disclosure policy, bolster board supervision of the retailer's operations and allow shareholders to nominate at least three candidates for election to the company's board. It's requesting a trial by jury.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said the company would not comment on pending litigation.

The Police Retirement System of St. Louis filed a similar lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its executives last year related to a trading loss of $6.25 billion sustained by the New York-based bank's chief investment office in May 2012. That lawsuit said the defendants breached their duties to shareholders by failing to block risky trades made by JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil, known as the "London Whale."

By John Vomhof Jr. – Staff reporter/broadcaster, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal